Do you agrre with this article on Cam?

[IamSoClutch]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1591058-cam-newton-must-elevate-his-game-for-the-carolina-panthers-in-2013

i know some of you are going to bash this because its on bleacher report but its the offseason so hey. let me know what you think. in my opinion it just shows why this draft should be all about protecting Cam and giving him weapons.

[BelgianPantherFan]

I don't. I do agree that Cam needs to improve, needs to work on certain aspects of his game (but hey, who doesn't?), but it's not fair to put everything on Cam's shoulders. Other players need to step up, and help him out too. He was terrific his first season, great his second, and will be even better his thirth.

[fieryprophet]

Scott Cocksmear is a prick. Ignore.

[teeray]

People should bookmark this article for whenever they need an example of someone taking a hodge podge of statistics without the contextualizing them, making declarative statements based on those statistics in order from them to feel smart or well informed.

Just about everything in that article is misunderstood, mischaracterized, or misinformed.

[Udogg]

I don't think it explains the whole story. However some of the points are valid. I see plenty of room for Cam to improve. I see plenty of room for everyone to improve.

To me it comes down to 7 points. If we can + 7 points either offensively or defensively we can be a good closing on great team. If we win even half of the close games we are having completely different thoughts about Cam. 3 years is still the number I saw for the big jump in play for a QB. It was pretty much a consensus when Cam was drafted that his play would be much better in year 3.

We just need for all 3 facets to compete at the same time. Rivera year 1 the offense was carrying the team. Year 2, mostly defense. Hopefully everything comes together and we can have all these Cam critics shut up.

[rayzor]

he's got an agenda. he thinks newton is overrated. wanted to see the slump. didn't. what else can be criticized? no progress (tho it was most certainly there as he cleaned up a lot of things as a passer).

he's putting too much if the w-l column on the QB because it suits his argument against newton.

and please, quit posting BR stuff in here because all it does is show how horrible they are. just because the writer managed to lay down a million words doesn't mean he wasn't talking out of his ass.

[TheRed]

"While some of the losses have been out of his control, Newton can go from Superman to scam in one drive."

Well there went this articles integrity.

[KJ89]

I read the shiny new toys part and closed the window.

[KJ89]

"While some of the losses have been out of his control, Newton can go from Superman to scam in one drive."

Well there went this articles integrity.

Right?

[teeray]

When people compare Newton to Luck on the 4th quarter stuff it is very frustrating. That is why context is always important when looking at these statistics. I actually posted a little bit about this in another thread not to long ago. Here is what I wrote:

But for sh1ts and giggles lets look at some of the games the Colts won and compare those to our Panthers and you can tell me what you think.

Minnesota: Indy won on a 53 yard field goal

Cleveland: Indy hold a 4 point lead going into the 4th quarter. Defense does not give up a single point in 4th and Indy wins by 4 points

Tennessee: Indy ties the game with 3:24 left in regulation. Colt's defense holds tie and Colts win in OT

Miami: Colts take a 3 point lead with 5:58 left in the game. Defense preserves the lead

Buffalo: Colts take a 7 point lead with 11:30 to go in the 4th quarter. Defense preserves that lead

Tennessee: Colts takes a 1 point lead with 6:23 left in the 4th quarter. Defense preserves that lead and Colts win by 4

Kansas City: Colts take 7 point lead with 4:08 to go in the 4th quarter. Defense preserves lead.

Which leads me to ask a couple of questions.

1) When was the last time the Panther's defense was able to preserve a one score advantage with more than 3:00 to play?

2) Would preserving those leads make Cam's GWD and 4QC statistics look dramatically different?

3) If the Panther's defense was able to preserve those leads would our W/L look dramatically different?

Our defense made a lot of strides last year, but it struggled in late game situations. And yet despite that we were essentially two hail marys and a Smitty slip from probably being 10-6

[rayzor]

agreed^^^ the defense def. cost us wins late in games, despite playing much better thru the rest of the game as the season went on.

rivera's biggest mistake was putting the game in their hands which was essentially giving the other team a chance to win, which is stupid and should never be done when its so easy to make big gains in a short amount of time thanks to rules protecting the deep passing game.

if we had kept the ball in our offenses hands, would the other team had been able to score?

you've got to control the scoreboard throughout the game. you've got to score more than the other team, a lot more because you never know for sure if your D is going to be able to prevent the other team from scoring. the best defense is a good offense.

the first three quarters have to be about getting a sizeable lead. the last quarter needs to be about protecting that lead and you do that by keeping the ball in your hands and eating up the clock. defense should be a last resort and should never be trusted with trying to stop the other team. always count on them failing. hope for the best. prepare them to be great. but expect failure.

cam does need to improve and he's got room for it because the sky is the limit and as good as he is, he's just going to get better...he's still really early into a long career that he's several years away from peaking. but he's not the reason for the losing season. who really needs to step it up at the end of games is the defense and rivera's playcalling/game management.

[CarolinaCoolin]

The scam comments are so played out. Geez

[rayzor]

The scam comments are so played out. Geez

the moment you throw that out in any article is the moment any hope of being taken seriously should be thrown out.

[rayzor]

oh....and can we take the link out of the OP? i don't like giving BR any link juice.